How affect influences creativity: The mediating role of self-regulation

ABSTRACT

This study investigated how affect and self-regulation related to creativity and explored the mediating role of self-regulation in affect-creativity relationship. Participants were 416 college students from around the greater metropolitan area of Seoul. The results indicated that negative affects (anxiety) related negatively to self-regulation and creativity and positive affects (happiness) related positively to self-regulation and creativity. These findings suggest the important role played by positive affects in promoting college student\'s self-regulation and creative problem solving abilities. Positive affects lead to cognitive processing that are not only flexible and innovative but also thorough and efficient. Furthermore, self-regulation mediated the effects of these affects on college student\'s creativity. It is suggested that the benefit of positive affects and self-regulation should be taken into consideration when developing creativity-enhancing programs and education more generally.